Setting Expectations for Employees: How to Avoid 10 Common Mistakes
Setting expectations for employees is a balancing act: Set the bar too high, and you discourage your team. Too low? You're not pushing them enough.
Setting clear and motivating employee expectations is not just about telling employees what to do. It's about inspiring confidence, fostering growth, and lighting that fire within them.
We're diving into the 10 most common mistakes made when setting expectations for employees.
And we're not just pointing them out.
We're delving into the vital techniques and insights that empower leaders to articulate employee expectations and do so in a manner that inspires and propels their teams toward achieving their full potential.
🙅♀️ Are you setting expectations for employees the right way? 10 Mistakes to avoid
We'll first take a look at the most common problems around setting expectations as a leader.
Not documenting employee expectations
Without clear documentation, expectations may be open to interpretation. This can lead to misunderstandings between business leaders and employees about what's required, potentially resulting in subpar performance or frustration.
A documented set of expectations clarifies what's expected from each employee. This reduces confusion and ensures everyone is on the same page regarding their roles, responsibilities, and performance standards.
Setting very vague employee expectations
Vague expectations provide little guidance to employees regarding what's expected of them. This builds up confusion about their roles and responsibilities, resulting in subpar performance.
Employees thrive on clear direction and a sense of purpose. Vague expectations can lead to a lack of motivation and a feeling of aimlessness, as employees may not understand how their efforts contribute to the organization's overall goals.
Setting unrealistic expectations
When employees are given unattainable tasks or goals, they may become demoralized and feel defeated. This can lead to a decrease in motivation and overall job satisfaction.
Sometimes, your employees might just end up setting their own goals. The continuous pursuit of unattainable goals can also lead to burnout, a state of chronic physical and emotional exhaustion. This severely affects the individual's well-being and the organization's productivity.
Failing to consider external factors
Similarly, you need to realistically analyze their environment. Ignoring external factors like market conditions or resource limitations can lead to setting unrealistic expectations.
For example, expecting a sales team to meet ambitious targets during an economic downturn might be unattainable due to reduced consumer spending.
When employees are expected to meet goals that are not achievable due to external constraints, it can lead to frustration and demoralization. They may feel unfairly burdened and powerless trying to meet those expectations.
Not linking employee expectations to larger goals
Employees should always understand how individual expectations contribute to the organization's larger goals. Otherwise, they'll inevitably feel disconnected and lack a sense of purpose in their work.
Knowing that their efforts contribute to the company's overall success can be a powerful motivator for employees. Without this connection, employee engagement and motivation will suffer.
Not making expectation-setting a collaborative process
Not involving employees in setting their own expectations is one of the biggest mistakes team leaders could make when setting clear employee expectations.
Your team may feel like the goals are imposed on them rather than something they have ownership of. This can lead to a lack of commitment and lower motivation to meet those realistic expectations.
Remember: Employees have valuable insights into their strengths, weaknesses, and capabilities. Not involving them in the expectation-setting process can result in goals not aligned with their skillsets, potentially leading to frustration and underperformance.
Not sharing regular constructive feedback as you manage expectations
Employees won't clearly understand how well they're meeting certain expectations without regular feedback.
They may be left in the dark about their performance, leading to confusion and uncertainty. This can negatively impact the overall employee performance and potentially the team or organization, further contributing to:
- an increased risk of employee performance issues;
- poor conflict resolution;
- lack of trust and rapport;
- a high resistance to change;
- stagnation and missed opportunities.
Taking for granted that the employees fully understood the performance expectations
Even if team expectations are documented, individual employees may interpret them differently or have questions about specific details.
Assuming they understand without confirmation can lead to misunderstandings and misaligned efforts.
Open channels of communication regarding team expectations encourage accountability. When employees know they can seek clarification or raise concerns, they're more likely to take responsibility for meeting the set expectations.
Failing to evaluate employee performance and reiterate
If the expectations set for an employee remain static, they may not align with the current company values and objectives.
Expectations set 2 years ago for a specific role might not be realistic anymore due to changes in business needs, role-specific tasks, etc.
This misalignment can lead to wasted efforts on tasks that are no longer relevant or important.
On top of this, when employees work towards outdated or irrelevant expectations, they'll spend time and energy on tasks that no longer contribute to the organization's overall success. And not seeing the expected outcomes isn't really motivating for them.
Not following up with training and growth resources
70% of employees report that they don't master the skills needed to do their jobs.
Properly equipping your team to ensure that every team member is well-set to meet those expectations, rather than leaving them to navigate alone in the dark, should be top on any leader's priorities.
Employees who feel ill-equipped to meet their expectations will likely experience a drop in confidence and motivation. This can lead to a decrease in productivity and a negative impact on their overall job satisfaction.
🏆 How to set expectations for employees that prepare them for success
To prevent all of the above scenarios, we've got a step-by-step action plan to help you cover every potential challenge of setting expectations with employees:
Document team expectations and progress
Documenting team expectations provides clarity and transparency regarding what's expected from employees in terms of their roles, responsibilities, and performance standards. This clarity further helps align individual efforts with organizational goals and the company's values, which fosters a more productive and efficient work environment.
You can use tools like Zavvy to set expectations on the career paths and frameworks and set up one-on-ones for documenting discussions, agreements, and alignment between employees and company leaders.
Use the SMART framework to set goals in line with the expectations
Using the SMART framework to set goals aligned with expectations is crucial for ensuring that team member objectives are clear, achievable, and aligned with the organization's overall vision.
🆚 Make sure you first understand the differences between goals and expectations to keep them aligned.
Maintain the balance between setting challenging employee expectations and achievable ones
Finding the right balance between setting challenging and achievable expectations is essential for fostering a productive, motivated, and engaged workforce. It requires a nuanced understanding of individual capabilities, organizational objectives, and available resources.
Regular communication, feedback, and ongoing evaluation are key to maintaining this balance.
Among the companies that have managed to strike a perfect balance is Google.
For Google team managers, the main aim is to ensure that employees understand and meet the expectations. Additionally, managers are obligated to give regular feedback.
These feedback sessions aid employees in having an understanding of the direction they must take throughout the year. Moreover, there will be regular check-ins, one of which will concentrate entirely on learning and career growth.
Define expectations that are linked to the broader objectives of the team or the company
Alignment with organizational goals ensures that every employee's efforts directly contribute to the organization's overall success and mission.
In a sales team, for instance, setting an expectation to increase quarterly revenue by 12% is up to par with the company's goal of achieving higher profitability.
Clearly linking employee performance expectations to broader objectives helps in effective communication.
Employees can see the bigger picture and understand how their contributions fit into the company's strategic plan.
Let's take a software development team as an example this time. Expecting them to deliver a new feature within a specific timeframe aligns with the company's potential goal of improving user experience and attracting more customers.
Jo Taylor, Founder & MD at Let's Talk Talent, says it's all about being really clear about how people can contribute from both an individualist and organization perspective:
"Start by articulating what the mission and purpose of the organization is, expectations around that, and how people can contribute. You want to balance what people need to drive with how you want them to behave. So make sure to focus on the inputs as well as the outputs and set goals to give people focus and reward contribution. At the end of the day, performance is a mix of motivation and contribution, so in defining expectations, make sure you tap into both."
Collect employee input
Encouraging feedback and collaboration in expectation-setting not only leads to more well-informed and realistic employee expectations but also helps build a culture where employees feel empowered and valued. This, in turn, leads to higher levels of motivation, job satisfaction, and overall productivity. It's a win-win for both employees and the organization.
Some of our own recommended ways for collecting employee feedback include:
- Running 360° feedback.
- Conducting performance reviews.
- Setting up town hall meetings.
- Using anonymous or pulse surveys.
Conduct regular check-ins
Regular check-ins allow for timely feedback on progress towards meeting clear expectations. These allow employees to clarify any misunderstandings or uncertainties about expectations.
This helps ensure that employees clearly understand what's required of them. Pairing this with regular acknowledgment and achievement celebrations motivates continued effort and reinforces positive behavior.
💬 Grab our best check-in questions and one-on-one meeting template to start running better check-ins today.
Ensure open communication
There are various ways to achieve this, but emphasizing open dialogue and being available to answer questions is particularly important.
Start by clearly communicating that open dialogue is encouraged and valued.
Let employees know they can approach you with questions or concerns to foster a culture of trust and inclusivity where employees feel comfortable expressing their thoughts, ideas, and concerns without fear of retribution.
Make goal-setting an iterative process
Evaluate whether the employee expectations you've set were realistic. Consider factors such as available resources, time constraints, and individual capabilities.
It's also important to consider external factors you didn't account for at the beginning of the process. This could include even more changes in market conditions, shifts in your company's priorities, or unexpected events.
Next steps: If it becomes evident that the initial expectations were too ambitious or not challenging enough, adjust them to be on the same page with what's realistically achievable.
Provide the necessary training to help employees meet expectations
Don't just throw courses at your employees. Conduct a thorough assessment to identify the required skills and knowledge based on clear expectations. This helps you tailor training programs to coach employees and address those needs as early as onboarding days.
Zavvy gives them easy access to a diverse range of training resources. These allow employees to conveniently access training materials anytime, anywhere.
➡️ For a tailored look at how to set expectations for new hires, check out our extensive guide on goal setting for new employees.
⏳ How often should you review and revise set employee expectations?
Not sure if it's time to review your employees' expectations?
Stick to our straightforward checklist of when to consider revising expectations:
- in cases where, despite clear expectations, results are too high or too low;
- if changes in role responsibilities or team structures need to happen;
- during annual performance reviews;
➡️ Download our free annual performance review template to save time.
- after major milestones or new projects;
- when facing short-term expectations that need to be reviewed more frequently (e.g., quarterly) to ensure your teams keep up with changing market conditions or company immediate goals adjustments.
💡 Tip: As a rule of thumb, more frequent adjustments make more sense in rapidly changing industries. On the other end, in more stable environments, annual reviews could prove more than enough.
🕵️♀️ Why is it important to set clear employee expectations? 5 Ways it makes a difference
Enhancing employee motivation
When employees know what's expected of them, they have a clear sense of direction. They understand their role and responsibilities, which reduces confusion and ambiguity. This clarity empowers them to focus their efforts on reasonable tasks that align with organizational goals.
Employees will understand what they are responsible for and are more likely to take ownership of their tasks and projects. This accountability and autonomy can lead to a greater sense of control and satisfaction in their work.
Reducing misunderstandings and potential conflicts
With the right employee expectations in place, you're giving your people guidance on how they should behave and interact with each other. This helps you avoid misunderstandings or conflicts that could come up in their day-to-day work.
Boosting productivity and alignment with organizational goals
By providing employees with clear objectives and goals to strive for, you'll motivate them to work harder and more efficiently. Additionally, setting the right expectations helps to ensure that everyone is working towards the same goals, which helps to improve team collaboration and organizational alignment.
Serving as a benchmark for performance reviews
Use past results to ensure your employees are held to a consistent standard and performance is objectively evaluated. Benchmarks further let you establish clear goals for employees, which can then be used to measure their progress toward those goals regularly.
Dominika Stemplewska, Line Manager at Unity Group, emphasizes that setting clear employee expectations will make performance reviews more objective:
"Reviews should always be based more on facts and less on personal feelings. Likewise, it will provide measurable guidelines for the employees and help them develop."
Providing a basis for decision-making regarding promotions
Ever wanted to speed up decision-making?
By having clear promotion criteria and communicating expectations to employees, you can guarantee that decisions are based on measurable factors such as performance, experience, and qualifications. This helps you provide fair and equitable promotions so employees will be rewarded for their hard work and dedication.
➡️ Set realistic employee expectations and enable success with Zavvy
Take charge of your team's career growth and invest in Zavvy's career pathing software. This platform provides a fast and dependable way to build career paths and set proper expectations. It also makes it easy for you to monitor each individual's progress, allowing you to:
- 📈 Run performance reviews tailored to your organization's needs and goals.
- 💬 Organize recurring one-on-one meetings to build connections, prevent blockers, and ensure alignment.
- 🏆 Develop employee performance and keep your people's skillsets updated to changing trends and needs in your industry.
- 🎯 Align your people on goals and help them reach them every time.
📅 Take the next step in people development and learn to set expectations without spending hours. Get a free demo of Zavvy.
❓ FAQs on setting new expectations for your team
What are employee expectations?
Employee expectations are outcomes, behaviors, and conditions that an employee anticipates and believes they're entitled to receive from their employer in exchange for their work. These clear expectations can cover many factors, including compensation, benefits, work environment, career development, etc.
What is the power of setting expectations?
When you communicate expectations promptly, employees understand from the get-go what's expected of them. This aligns individual and team goals with the organization's objectives. Knowing what's expected can motivate employees to perform at their best. It gives them a sense of purpose and direction, leading to higher employee engagement. On the other hand, unclear expectations can lead to confusion, frustration, and conflicts. When expectations are explicit, there is less room for misunderstandings.